Timeline

Graduates from Washington High School

Raised in Massillon, Ohio, by first-generation Greek American parents.

Witnesses the Kent State shootings

A junior living in Moulton Hall, he watched the assembly on the Commons and was evacuated at 3 p.m. He later wrote about what the day taught him.

Graduates from Kent State University

Bachelor of Science in Fine and Professional Arts (Speech–Journalism).

Moves to Cincinnati

Arrives in the Queen City from northeast Ohio.

Earns an applied science degree

Cincinnati State and Technical College. He also holds insurance designations from the American Insurance Institute.

Joins the Pride Week interfaith service committee

Part of the annual ecumenical and interfaith service that opened Pride Week to the public.

Hired at Procter & Gamble

He works there for nearly 20 years, retiring in 2003 as a Senior Research Associate.

A televised kiss at Fountain Square

At Cincinnati Pride, a local TV crew filmed him kissing the late Dr. Bob McNee of the University of Cincinnati. The footage aired three nights and outed him at P&G.

Moves to the Peridex brand

P&G transfers him to a prescription oral rinse that was reaching people with HIV through dental professionals.

P&G adds “sexual orientation” to its equal employment policy

After five years of recommendations, board meetings, and rejections, the company goes beyond federal requirements.

Cincinnati’s gay pride marshal

From 1985 to 1994 he also handled Pride publicity and marshal elections, and emceed the rally.

Helps bring the Pride Parade back

Senior Advisor to Chris Good after a five-year gap. He stays active in Pride leadership through 2015.

Retires from P&G

Nearly 20 years at the company.

Argues for moving Pride downtown

He saw that Pride had outgrown Northside, advocated for a downtown home, and helped find a new partner to lead the event.

Sarria Civil Rights Award and Lydia Grant Humanitarian Award

Both from the Imperial Sovereign Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire.

Tri-State Leather Forbearer Award

P&G’s Chief Diversity Officer writes to thank him

William Gipson invites him to the company’s celebration of 25 years of LGBT inclusion: a panel for employees on October 17 and a recognition dinner.

“Pride and Prejudice: How I Helped P&G Come Out”

Published in HuffPost.

“The Words Matter” is released

A 19-minute P&G and CNN Great Big Story film, made 25 years after the policy change, documents how the company came to include sexual orientation.

Cincinnati City Council resolution

The City of Cincinnati honors his work with a council resolution.

P&G’s GABLE creates the Courageous Leadership award in his name

The same program honored P&G’s former EEO officer Lynwood Battle with an award for Effective Allyship.

HRC Cincinnati David C. Crowley Leadership Award

Recognizes a lifetime commitment to equality.

“Out of the Shadows” and public radio

A second P&G and CNN film, plus a WVXU conversation with Scott Knox on the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights.

“They Will See You”

His last corporate film with CNN. It was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in January 2021.

To confirm with Michael: The old site says “They Will See You” in the biography and “They will see you now” on the References page. Which is the correct title?

WCPO “Points of Pride”

Evan Millward interviews him about how P&G came to include gays and lesbians.

Joins the Ohio Lesbian Archives board

Serves two and a half years, helping the group find a permanent home.

Contributes to the library’s Cincinnati Pride 50th anniversary archive

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County built an online collection marking 50 years since the first Pride event in the area (April 1973).

Ohio Lesbian Archives opens its permanent home

The goal he joined the board to reach is met with the grand opening in Over-the-Rhine.

World AIDS Day keynote

First Christian Church, Covington, Kentucky, remembering Larry A. Myers, Jr.

Writes “Kent State, May 4, 1970”

A personal essay on the 55th anniversary.

Returns to P&G as an invited guest

At the General Offices for “Perspectives on Pride,” where the Courageous Leadership and Effective Allyship scholarships were awarded.

Credited in Jake Hogue’s Cincinnati Before Stonewall

The author’s foreword names him among the resources for the book.

National AIDS Memorial asks for his reflections

Filmmaker Jorg Fockele contacted him for the “Surviving Voices” chapter on the corporate response to the pandemic.